The
Amazing
Brain:
Trauma and the
Potential for Healing
By Linda Burgess Chamberlain, PhD, MPH
A baby’s brain is like a flower ready
to bloom. From the first moments
of life, a baby’s brain is absorbing
new experiences and being shaped
by its environment. Even though an
infant may be too young to have
conscious memories of these early
experiences, the developing brain
does not forget.
First impressions last a lifetime.
A baby’s brain will blossom from lots
of positive, nurturing experiences
with you. Negative experiences have
the opposite effect on early brain
development— much like a flower
that wilts from neglect. Early trauma
can leave a lasting imprint on the
developing brain. The younger a
child is, the more vulnerable their
brain is to the effects of trauma.
Childhood trauma can be any negative
experience that causes major stress
for an infant or child. Family violence is
especially traumatic for children because
someone they are close to is being hurt
or hurting them. The trauma of living in
a home with domestic violence where a
parent is being hurt or threatened can be
as harmful as being physically or sexually
abused. Children exposed to domestic
violence live in fear and chaos—life is like
a roller coaster of not knowing what to
expect next. This leads to problems as a
child’s brain adapts to survive.
You can help children who experience
trauma by understanding six basic facts
about trauma and brain development.
Surviving or Thriving?
The building blocks of the brain develop from the bottom to
the top. When children feel safe and nurtured, they spend
more time in the upper building blocks of the brain where they
do their most important learning such as bonding with you,
learning to talk, and getting along with others. When children
feel unsafe or threatened, they spend more time in the lower
building blocks of the brain—focusing on survival. This can lead
to changes in the brain including:
Less development of the upper brain
Smaller brain size
Fewer brain connections
Trauma Interferes with Learning
The lower building blocks of the brain, which are connecting
and developing first, are extremely sensitive to trauma.
The developing brain can become over-sensitized to
stress. Children experiencing early trauma are often easily
overwhelmed by minor stressors such as a change in their
schedule or routine. They have difficulty soothing or calming
themselves. The following problem behaviors are common
among children who experience trauma:
Difficulty with focusing and paying attention
Anxious, unable to settle down
Bullying and other aggressive behaviors
When children feel calm and safe, they focus their energy
on learning. Children who are dealing with trauma are often
in a chronic state of crisis. They focus on trying to feel
“OK” or normal. This compromises their ability to learn.
Traumatized children have more speech problems and
difficulty learning how to read.
PTSD Hurts the Brain
When posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD) occurs, the brain gets stuck
in the trauma and relives it over and
over again. Reminders of the trauma
can trigger a flood of stress hormones
before a child even knows what is
happening. Reminders of the trauma
might be a sound or a smell such as
what a child ate for dinner the night that
“mommy and daddy got really mad.”
High levels of stress hormones interfere
with brain development and learning.
Symptoms of childhood PTSD include:
Zoning out, withdrawing
Sleep problems such as night terrors or
repeated night wakings
Loss of developmental skills such as a
child who is learning to speak suddenly
stops talking
Violent play such as acting out threats
and physical attacks with toys over and
over again
By recognizing the symptoms
of PTSD, we can help children
to get treatment as soon as
possible. Therapists who have
experience working with childhood
PTSD have a variety of techniques to
work with young children.
Trauma Leads to Other Health Problems
Children who experience trauma are more likely to have health problems such as
bedwetting, stomach problems, and chronic headaches. Trauma also takes a toll on
children’s emotional health. Depression, anxiety disorders, and behavioral problems
are very common among traumatized children. These children often start using
alcohol and drugs at an early age as a way to cope or numb their feelings.
You Can Make a Difference
Healthy relationships with a caring adult
can protect children from the effects
of trauma. Opportunities for children
to talk about what happened or play
out their feelings about the trauma can
start the healing process. Allow a child
to tell their story without pressuring
them to talk. You should be prepared to
hear things that may upset you---adults
often do not realize how children absorb
what’s happening around them and how
much it affects them.
Children need to hear that it’s
not their fault. Children blame
themselves when bad things happen,
so they need lots of reassurance from
you. Acknowledge their feelings with
statements such as “that sounds like it
was really scary for you” or “it sounds
like you were very worried when the
police came.”
Other ways you can help include:
Ask a child what he or she is most worried about
Help a child to find ways to express their feelings
such as drawing or journaling
Provide lots of structure for daily activities such
as meals, homework, and bedtime so a child
knows what to expect and prepare them for any
changes in their daily routines
Help other caregivers to understand how trauma
can affect a child and how to respond supportively
Reduce exposure to violent media such as
television, video-games, and movies
It’s Never Too Late
We can rewire and grow our brains
over our entire lifetime. Every day, we
are learning more about the brain’s
amazing ability to heal. The way we
live and the quality of relationships
we have can either help or hinder the
potential of our brains to grow and
heal. Depression, high levels of stress,
and substance abuse can reduce the
brain’s ability to recover. However,
physical activity, developing new skills,
healthy relationships, and being socially
active help our brains to form new
connections. It’s never too late to get
help and start healing.
BrainConnection.com
This Web site provides information about how the brain works and how
people learn. Many discoveries are being made in areas that relate to the
human brain, including language, memory, behavior, and aging, as well as
illness and injury. BrainConnection.com also provides practitioner-friendly
tools for teaching and learning.
www.Brainconnection.com
Child Trauma Academy
The Child Trauma Academy, a not-for-profit organization based in Houston,
Texas, is a collaborative of individuals and organizations working to improve
the lives of high-risk children through direct service, research and education.
www.childtrauma.org
The National Child Traumatic Stress Network
The NCTSN was established to improve access to care, treatment, and services
for traumatized children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events.
www.nctsnet.org
Children’s Crisis Treatment Center
CcTC provides a full array of high-quality, comprehensive mental
health services to children and their families in Philadelphia, including
trauma-focused therapy to children 18 months through 13 years.
www.CcTCkids.org
Zero-to-Three
This site offers a comprehensive interactive resource for parents and early
childhood education professionals on healthy development of children ages
zero to three.
www.zerotothree.org
Dr. Baldwin’s Trauma Information Pages
These Trauma Pages focus primarily on emotional trauma and traumatic
stress, including PTSD (Post-traumatic Stress Disorder) and dissociation,
whether following individual traumatic experience(s) or a largescale disaster. The purpose of this award winning site is to provide
information for clinicians and researchers in the traumatic-stress field.
www.trauma-pages.com/bookstore.php
The Amazing Brain: Trauma and the Potential for Healing, 2008, Philadelphia, PA. This brochure was
written by Linda Burgess Chamberlain, PhD, MPH with support from the Institute for Safe Families and Multiplying
Connections of the Health Federation of Philadelphia and Advocates for Youth.
Linda Burgess Chamberlain is the founding director of the Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project. An
epidemiologist specializing in domestic violence, she is an internationally recognized speaker on the effects of violence
on children and brain development. She lives on a rural homestead outside of Homer, Alaska with her dog team. A
national Kellogg Leadership Fellow, Dr. Chamberlain is also a motivational speaker and uses “lessons from the trail”
to promote key strategies for teamwork and leadership.
howlinghusky@gci.net
The Institute for Safe Families (ISF) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to prevent family
violence and promote the health and well being of each member of the family and their community. Since the
early 1990’s, ISF has developed innovative programming and built coalitions that unite health care providers with
social service, policy experts, researchers, academicians, and victim/survivors. One of ISF’s unique strengths has
been to create forums for cross-systems dialogue aimed at building greater capacity for more effective prevention
and response to family violence.
www.instituteforsafefamilies.org
Multiplying
Connections
Multiplying Connections of The Health Federation of Philadelphia is a cross system collaborative whose
mission is to translate the research on early childhood brain development into better practice through
professional training and organizational and policy change. Multiplying Connections is developing materials
and strategies to promote trauma informed and developmentally appropriate care across the public child and
family service system in the City of Philadelphia. This capacity building initiative is funded by the William Penn
Foundation.
www.multiplyingconnections.org
Advocates for Youth is dedicated to creating programs and advocating for policies that help
young people make informed and responsible decisions about their reproductive and sexual health.
Advocates provides information, training, and strategic assistance to youth-serving organizations,
policy makers, youth activists, and the media in the United States and the developing world.
www.advocatesforyouth.org
Design and Illustration: Peter Camburn
About Face Design, www.aboutfacedesign.net